Volunteer Karen Rowan pours a pitcher at the Great Divide Brewery tent during the first day of the 2012 Colorado Brewer's Festival in Fort Collins. / Samuel Wilson/The Coloradoan

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A brouhaha is brewing this year over the beer Connoisseurs’ Event at this summer’s Colorado Brewer’s Festival.

Choice City Butcher & Deli, which founded the event, is accusing the Downtown Business Association, or DBA, of stealing the name. Choice City has called for a boycot of the event this year. In response, the DBA changed the name of the event to All Brewer’s Eve.

In its fourth year, the DBA planned to host the Connoisseurs’ Event, but unbeknownst to Russ Robinson, owner of Choice City Butcher & Deli, 104 W. Olive St., the organization opted to work with Whole Foods this year.

Robinson said he learned that the DBA had taken over the event when a customer asked him for tickets several weeks ago before he had advertised them. He learned that Whole Foods had partnered with the DBA when speaking Tuesday with the Coloradoan.

“They took the name for the connoisseur tasting and the exact same format,” he said. “I was blown away. Wow, I thought the DBA was supposed to help small business and not just completely take their ideas.”

Feeling betrayed, Robinson took to his restaurant's Facebook page Friday , sharing the story and calling for a boycott of the event.

As of deadline, the comment received 78 shares and 172 likes. Many comments on the post are in support of Robinson, who said he has received phone calls from other businesses expressing similar frustrations with the DBA.

Peggy Lyle of the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association said following last year’s festival, the DBA reached out to Robinson multiple times to discuss how things had gone. Lyle said Robinson never responded and did not renew his DBA membership this year.

“I think it does boil down to quality communication between the two of us,” she said. “But we did reach out multiple times, and he did not renew DBA membership. We reached out to try to get feedback about festival and the membership.”

The DBA moved forward planning this year’s event without Choice City and had no idea about any conflict until the Facebook post popped up Friday, Lyle said.

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In light of the post, the DBA changed the name of the Connoisseurs’ Event to All Brewer’s Eve. The Brewer’s Festival has held a brewers’ dinner the Friday before the festival for 24 years.

Lyle said the DBA has the same aim of promoting local beer as Choice City and wish Robinson the best with his own event.

Robinson said he is trying to organize his own beer tasting this year using the Connoisseurs’ Event name and is confident it will be more popular.

“If they go head to head against me, I will win,” said Robinson who said he can’t believe the DBA chose a large grocery store over his local business this year. “That’s incredible. That’s insane that the DBA will use a big corporate chain. Wow.”

Lyle stressed that the DBA’s first commitment is to its members and downtown businesses. She said they opted to use Whole Foods for the event because it was interested in working with the DBA and had the capacity to meet the event’s catering needs. It will have no part of the beer offerings.

In 2009, Robinson started the beer connoisseurs’ tasting event at the Aggie Theater in downtown. The event took place the Friday before the Colorado Brewer’s Festival and offered limited-edition beers and the chance to meet with brewers.

Last year, the DBA approached Robinson about partnering up to draw more people to the event.

The Colorado Brewers’ Festival’s Friday Event, now called All Brewer’s Eve, is $60 and includes food pairings, limited edition Colorado beers, a commemorative Belgian beer glass and access to beer experts and brewers.